Bringing purpose & audience to the centre of our writing classrooms

Original article: LINK

By Charlotte L. Land

Charlotte Land’s study aimed to answer the following question: How can teachers integrate critical and humanising teaching methods into their writing classrooms? Key findings show how teachers can use concepts like purpose and audience to value their students’ abilities and support them as makers of meaningful texts.

• Start with purpose and audience: Begin class writing projects by considering the purpose of the writing project and who the audience will be. This shift helps make writing tasks more meaningful and relevant to students [LINK].
• Recognise student capabilities: By emphasising purpose and audience, teachers can better recognise and value the unique knowledge(s) and perspectives that each student brings to the writing classroom [LINK].
• Support student agency: Encourage students to see themselves as capable and independent writers who can make decisions about their writing based on its purpose and intended future audience [LINK and LINK].

Humanising teaching approaches

Schools can often purchase writing schemes which dehumanise both children and teachers. Critical and humanising pedagogies aim to counter these effects by promoting a more inclusive, respectful, and empowering approach to teaching writing. An example of this is our free-access Writing Realities framework [LINK].

Core concepts of humanising writerly education:

1. Mutual learning: Humanising education involves teachers and students learning about writing and being writers together through dialogue, treating each other as equals in the learning process [LINK].
2. Resisting deficit views: Instead of seeing students through a lens of what they lack, educators should recognise and honour the strengths and knowledge(s) that students bring from their cultural and linguistic backgrounds to the writing classroom [LINK].
3. Disrupting power hierarchies: Teachers should aim to break down traditional power structures in the classroom and the broader society, fostering an environment where all students feel valued and empowered as young writers.
4. Applying critical literacy: Critical literacy involves reading and writing with an awareness of power dynamics in texts. It encourages students to not only understand and critique what they read but also to create their own texts that reflect their perspectives and push for social justice [LINK].

Making writing relevant and engaging for students

Today’s writers need to be adaptable and able to make complex decisions about how to effectively communicate their messages. However, schools often don’t spend enough time teaching writing, and when they do, it is frequently through uninspiring, scheme-assigned writing tasks that don’t connect with individual children or with real-world purposes [LINK and LINK]. Writing assignments are typically designed to meet a scheme’s requirements (not children’s needs).

To prepare students for the demands of writing beyond school, we need to give them opportunities to make their own writerly decisions. This includes deciding what to write about, why they are writing, and who their audience will be. Students should be seen as creators of knowledge rather than just consumers.

Historical and modern perspectives

The idea that writing teaching should consider audience and purpose dates back to Aristotle. Over time, scholars have explored how different types of audiences— whether real or imagined — affect the writing process. Today, as writing becomes more participatory, it’s important for students to develop skills for engaging with their readers and using their feedback effectively.

Challenges in current writing instruction

Research shows that giving students real reasons and audiences for their writing makes a big difference. And while the ideas of ‘purpose’ and ‘audience’ are common in both the National Curriculum and STA Writing Statements, they often become about following specific formats or fulfilling teacher (or scheme-generated) checklists rather than truly engaging with who the writing is for and why it matters [LINK and LINK]. This can make writing seem like a mechanical skill rather than a way to communicate with others [LINK].

Without a strong focus on purpose and audience, writing instruction can alienate children and become disconnected from the real-world. This leads to formulaic x30+ copies of the same writing that doesn’t inspire students (or teachers) to write for themselves. Students need to see writing as a tool to make and share meaning with others, not just as an academic exercise to endure. Unfortunately, for too many students in the UK at present this is the case [LINK].

• Standardised writing: Schools often conform to narrow definitions of what writing could (and should) be, especially when following narrow writing schemes, which can overlook the rich and diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds of students [LINK].
• Teacher-centered evaluation: Even in more inclusive classrooms, teachers are usually the main audience and evaluators, making most of the decisions about writing tasks [LINK and LINK].
• Pressure to conform: There is significant pressure to disproportionately prioritise getting children to write about their reading, and to stick to formulaic writing instruction, especially in schools serving marginalised and/or economically underserved communities [LINK].

Addressing these challenges

Teachers need methods that honour and build on students’ strengths, preparing them for teacher-assessment/moderation and the diverse writing contexts they’ll encounter when they leave school. This involves:

• Connecting writing to real life: Help students choose writing topics that are meaningful to them and connect to their own experiences, knowledge(s), passions and interests [LINK and LINK].
• Focusing on purpose and audience: Start with why students are writing and who they are writing for [LINK].
• Support student agency: Encourage students to see themselves as capable writers who can make decisions about their writing [LINK]. This helps them develop confidence and a sense of ownership over their writing.
• Dialogue and collaboration: Engage with students in meaningful conversations about their writing [LINK].
• Valuing student backgrounds: Invite children to incorporate their cultural and linguistic resources into the writing classroom to make their writing apprenticeship more relevant and respectful [LINK].
• Empowering students: Invite students to write about issues that matter to them, helping them see their potential to influence change [LINK].
• Critical text creation: Allow students to compose their own texts that challenge injustices and express their unique voices, promoting individual agency and action [LINK].

Conclusion

In summary, adopting critical and humanising approaches to writing helps create a more inclusive and engaging learning environment [LINK]. It prepares children as thoughtful writers who understand the impact writing can have and are ready to navigate various writing contexts effectively now and in the future [LINK].